


slow and steady (doesn't necessarily win the race)

by Kacka



Series: Kacka Does a Thing [17]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 07:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10917639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kacka/pseuds/Kacka
Summary: Bellamy knows Clarke is going to say yes when he proposes. She told him she would. But once he buys the ring he's still pretty anxious, trying to figure out how to do it, and his friends making fun of him definitely isn't helping.





	slow and steady (doesn't necessarily win the race)

**Author's Note:**

> I tweaked this prompt a little, but I hope you still like it, anon! Thanks for sending it in :)

"So, marriage."

Bellamy drives off the road, blinking at the TV as Princess Peach zooms across the finish line while his screen is black, Waluigi falling into the abyss.

"Was that intentional?" He asks, finishing the race on autopilot and in twelfth place, as Clarke snuggles into his side and presses her smile into his shoulder.

"It was a conversation I've been trying to figure out when to have."

"And you decided the last three seconds of Rainbow Road was the right time?"

"Two birds, one stone." She tilts her head and smirks up at him, and he can't help the way his irritation instantly disappears. She might be ruthlessly competitive, but he's also like ninety percent sure she wants to marry him, and he can't find it within himself to be upset about anything when he's thinking about that. "So what do you think?"

"What do I think about marriage? In general?"

"Sure. And to me, specifically."

"Is this you proposing?"

"No way," she snorts. "You know I don't half-ass anything, ever. If I propose, I'm gonna sweep you off your feet."

He grins. "Fair point."

"So?"

"So--" He shrugs. "I don't know. Marriage in general has never been a big dream of mine, mostly because I was pretty relieved Mom never married any of the guys in her life. It's not like-- It was still hard for her to leave some of them, but it would have been harder if there were legalities involved."

Clarke kisses his shoulder again, nuzzling into him a little, and he puts his arm around her. "As a child of divorce, I can attest that the legalities don't make any of it easier."

"I guess I didn't get the appeal of it for a long time." He pauses. "But ever since we started dating... Well, I get it now."

"Yeah?"

He kisses her hair. "Yeah. I want to tell everyone all the time how awesome you are and how awesome our life is together. It's a lot easier if we do it all at once, with all the people important to us watching. And then everyone else can just take a hint from the rings."

"Sappy," she accuses, but he can hear the smile in her voice.

"Plus there are tax advantages and healthcare and stuff."

"Well if it's for tax advantages." She straightens a little, still under his arm, and picks her controller back up.

"Hey." He pokes her in the side. "You can't just leave it at that. This is when you're supposed to tell me what you think."

"I think I couldn't imagine marrying someone I trusted and loved less than I trust and love you."

His voice comes out mostly even when he says, "So you do want to marry me."

"Obviously."

"Okay." He picks up his controller again. "So if I proposed to you, you'd say yes."

"Unless I propose to you first."

He snorts and shakes his head. "Not everything has to be a competition, you know."

"That's not the mentality of a winner, Bellamy." She grins at him. "But if you asked me first, of course I'd say yes."

"Cool." He turns his attention deliberately back to the screen. "Good to know."

* * *

Bellamy met Clarke at one of Monty's infamous game nights back in college, and his first impression of her was that he'd never met someone so intense about recreational activities. They actually had to ban Monopoly after she threw the board at him one week, but then, he'd been laying on the trash talk pretty thick because of his stupid crush on her, so they were both sort of at fault. She offered to make it up to him by buying him a coffee, and faster than he could understand what had happened, he was half in love.

They're a few years out of college now, and game nights are still a thing (though some new players have come and some others have gone), as are his feelings for Clarke. To the point where he saved up and bought a ring, even before what he thinks of as the Rainbow Road conversation.

He doesn't have a plan yet as to when or how he'll give it to her, but he wants to be ready. Just in case.

Of course, having the ring at all makes it real in a way it never has been before, and he's surprised to find that it freaks him out a little bit.

Bellamy's usual move when that happens is to go to Clarke, which he can't do this time for obvious reasons. Out of all of his friends, Miller is probably his best bet for an emotional sounding board. He's in a happy, stable, loving relationship, and he's used to putting up with Bellamy's verbal diarrhea about his feelings for Clarke. He'll tell Miller, Miller will act like it's no big deal, and then Bellamy will feel calmer about it.

It's a good plan, up to the point where Miller completely misunderstands his role in it.

"Damn," Miller breathes, staring at it resting in its case. "I mean, we all knew you and Clarke were going to get married, but-- _damn_. This is huge."

"You're already married," Bellamy points out, taking the ring back from him and tucking it away behind his Latin textbooks on his shelf. The one place Clarke is sure to never look. "This isn't supposed to be a huge deal to you."

"Yeah, but that's me and Monty. Functional human beings. This is you we're talking about, so-- it's huge, man." He bumps him with his shoulder. "I'm happy for you guys."

"We're not engaged yet."

"You basically are."

Bellamy smiles small. "She has to say yes first. I can't just decide we're engaged on my own."

"Yeah, but she will," says Miller with easy confidence. Even though Clarke has told him the same thing, it still reassures Bellamy to hear Miller say it. "When are you gonna pop the question?"

"I don't know yet."

"Well, I'd do it sooner rather than later. Knowing you, the longer you wait, the more you're going to psych yourself out and make it into a bigger production than it needs to be."

"I would not."

"Dude, you're so dramatic. You'd end up with, like-- skydiving into a field of roses that make a mosaic of her face or something."

"Don't roses have a bunch of thorns? I'm pretty sure that would hurt."

"Love is pain."

"It's mostly not, in my experience," Bellamy says, and can't bite back on his smile quick enough before Miller catches sight of it. He rolls his eyes, but he's smiling too.

"That's why you're marrying her."

"Yeah. Pretty much." He rubs his face. "It's supposed to be a big moment, right? It's supposed to be-- I feel like I should do something special. Memorable."

"It's gonna be special and memorable no matter what," Miller points out. "And it's a good thing. You don't need to stress over it."

"That's good advice, but telling myself not to stress about something has never worked well for me."

Miller snorts. "Then I'd propose as soon as humanly possible."

"Your confidence in me is overwhelming."

Despite suspecting that Miller might be right, Bellamy figures if he doesn't come up with a plan, the perfect opportunity will, at some point, present itself. So he vaguely brainstorms-- considers making it a game for her, some sort of scavenger hunt or something-- and waits and watches.

It's not like he's procrastinating, and he certainly hasn't forgotten. The ring has been lurking there in the back of his mind, stressing him out and making him weigh each moment with Clarke in a way he normally wouldn't. Wondering if the moment is perfect enough.

Unfortunately, his friends have no such patience. Miller must have spilled the beans to Monty, who probably told Jasper, who definitely would've told everyone else, because at game night a couple of months later, something is definitely up.

"Anyone want a beer?" Raven calls from the kitchen.

"I do," Monty calls back.

"I do too," says Jasper, and they exchange a look that makes Bellamy extremely wary.

Before he can ask, Raven pops her head back in. "Sorry, did you guys say, 'I do'?"

"I said I do." Jasper looks at Monty. "Did you say I do?"

"For better or for worse," Monty says with a mostly straight face, and Miller stifles a laugh.

"Yeah, we all want some. I'll get the beers if you grab the chips and salsa."

Clarke moans and flops down into Miller's vacated seat, slumping against Monty and seemingly having noticed nothing strange. "My soul food. I swear, I could eat chips and salsa for every meal for the rest of my life and not get tired of it."

"I'm pretty sure the rest of your life wouldn't be very long," Bellamy teases, sitting on the floor in front of her feet. Her hand immediately starts working through his curls.

"Yeah, death would do you part pretty quickly," Monty says, and Jasper snickers. "Anyway, I was thinking we could play Settlers this week?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Me too," Bellamy adds, studying them suspiciously and wondering what joke they're telling that he's not in on.

Miller comes back in and passes bottles around to everyone. When Bellamy moves to set his on the coffee table, Miller swats at his hand.

"What?"

"Coaster."

"Since when do you care?"

"Since you assholes started leaving rings every time."

"And Miller knows a good _ring_ when he sees one," Monty adds. Jasper's grin widens but Bellamy frowns.

"You guys are being weird tonight."

"They're weird every night," Clarke says, running her nails against his scalp. He shivers and relaxes back into her.

"You're right. I don't know why we keep hanging out here."

"Mostly for the snacks," she teases, scooping some salsa onto a chip.

"Please," Raven scoffs, dropping down and slinging her bad leg across Bellamy's lap. "You know you love us. Even when we're assholes."

"If we didn't love you when you're assholes, we'd never love you," Clarke agrees cheerfully, and Raven flicks her knee.

"You guys just make it way too easy on us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing." She grins at them, bright and terrifying. "What are we playing?"

"Monty _proposed_ Settlers of Catan," Jasper pipes up, and Miller chokes on his beer.

"Anyone have any other suggestions?" Raven asks. "Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Everyone else starts chuckling under their breath, and Bellamy looks back at Clarke helplessly. She just shrugs and smiles at him, taking a long pull of her beer.

"Settlers it is."

As dumb and obvious as they're being, Bellamy doesn't actually catch on until Raven starts telling them about the car she's building from scratch-- a blue 1970s Mustang that she's going a little off-book with and giving some updates she deems 'Reyes originals'.

"You can borrow it sometime, when I'm done," she says, nudging Clarke.

Clarke raises an eyebrow. At some point in the past hour, she's appeared to catch on to the odd vibe in the room, but if she understands it, she hasn't let on to Bellamy.

"Why me?" She asks, her voice flat.

"You don't have a car," says Raven, not unreasonably. "And this is going to be a good one. Old and new and blue..."

And just like that, it snaps in Bellamy's mind. They've been making wedding references. He kicks Miller under the table, and gets a glare in return.

"Ow," he mutters. "What the hell?"

Bellamy gives him a look that he hopes gets his 'you know what the hell' message across, but has to fume in silence until Clarke gets up to go to the bathroom.

"Will you guys lay off?"

"Lay off what?" Jasper says innocently, and Raven kicks _him_ under the table, which at least saves Bellamy the trouble.

"I don't even get why you think this is funny."

"Yeah, but trust me. It is." Monty grins at him. "You don't know why yet, but it is."

"Just roll with it," Miller advises, and Bellamy swipes his drink from him.

"You betrayed my trust," he grumbles. Miller just rolls his eyes.

"So dramatic."

"Takes one to know one."

They hear the bathroom door open, cutting off what's sure to devolve into a childish bickering match. Raven hums 'Here Comes the Bride' under her breath and Bellamy swipes her beer too, for good measure.

"Going hard?" Clarke asks with amusement, eyeing the three half-full bottles in his hands.

"Trust me, they deserved it."

She pats his knee. "Not hard to believe."

His friends don't let up with the jokes and Bellamy keeps stealing their beers, and by the time Clarke is herding him back to their apartment, he's nice and buzzed. She's definitely laughing at him as she helps him stumble out of his shoes and pants and into bed, but it's such a nice sound, and then she's sliding in beside him all soft and warm and happy, he's not really put out. Instead he grabs ahold of her hand and pulls her closer behind him.

"Our friends are assholes," he grumbles. She laughs, her breath tickling the back of his neck.

"You say that like it's news."

"No, I knew they were."

"World's worst-kept secret."

"You're the only one I like," he declares. "I'm keeping you. Forget about the rest of them."

"Yeah, I love you too." He can feel her smile on his skin. "Go to sleep, Bell."

" _You_ go to sleep," he mumbles, but he's already drifting off.

* * *

Clarke is already up and out of bed when he wakes in the morning, the smell of coffee permeating the apartment. He finds her sketching on the couch in a shirt she stole from him when they first started dating and a dusting of charcoal underneath her jaw. It makes him stupidly fond, even half asleep.

"Hey," he says blearily, flopping down next to her on the sofa and dropping his head against her shoulder.

"Hung over?" She asks, pausing in her shading to nose at the top of his head.

"I think it's mostly annoyance. Have I mentioned I hate our friends?"

"You said so last night. I still don't believe you."

"What if I tell you I really mean it?"

She hums noncommittally. "They were acting strange, right?"

"That's one word for it." He pauses and then, testing the waters, asks, "Did you feel like we were the butt of some inside joke?"

"Oh, we're definitely the butt." She flips to the last page in her sketchbook. "Probably has something to do with this."

He picks his head up, blinking down at the page, trying to make sense of the ring she has taped to the cardboard back. "You were going to propose?" He asks, his heart so full it spills a grin across his face.

"I still am," she teases. "I couldn't figure out-- I know I said I'd sweep you off your feet, but--"

"Trust, me, you did." He leans in for a soft, quick kiss, then pushes himself up to retrieve her ring from his own hiding place. When he turns back around, he has to laugh because she's slid off the couch and onto one knee.

"I don't want there to be any argument about which one of us proposed first," she says, holding his ring out to him. He laughs, a little bit choked up, and kneels beside her.

"You want to see yours, or you want to finish your proposal first?"

Her laugh is watery. "There's not much to it. I tried to think of a good speech, but-- that's your area of expertise. I just kept coming back to-- You're my favorite person in the world, and my best friend, and I love you."

"Not to critique one of the best moments of my life, but I think there's supposed to be a question in there somewhere," he teases, and she laughs again, sliding the ring onto his finger.

"Marry me?"

Bellamy can't restrain himself any longer. He cups the back of her neck, overly aware of the sturdy, smooth band under his finger, and she kisses him without hesitation.

"Is that a yes?" She asks, breathless.

"Of course it's a yes. I thought the ring box kind of gave that away."

"Yeah, but there's an order to things," she insists, sitting back on her heels, nestling into his side. He flicks the lid up, revealing the simple band inside.

"I don't have a speech either. But I'm not sure anything I would say can beat your proposal."

"Damn straight."

"I'm still going to try," he laughs. "I've been trying to find the perfect moment, but I've realized it doesn't matter. Every moment is better with you in it. My life is better with you in it, and I want to spend the rest of it with you."

Clarke rolls her eyes, beaming. "You're _half asleep_ , and you still had to go and one-up me."

"To be fair, I've been carrying this thing around for months. I must've been a little bit prepared." He pulls the ring gently out of the box. "So, what do you say? Will you marry me?"

Clarke holds out her hand, lets him slip the band on and tangle their fingers together before she kisses him.

"I asked you first," she murmurs against his lips. He breaks out in laughter, tugging her into his lap.

"I think everyone's a winner in this situation."

"Yeah, but I won _better_."

He shakes his head, grinning at the cool metal of her ring against the skin of his shoulder. "Whatever the hell you want."

She grins and leans back in.

"Damn straight."

* * *

"I take it you guys knew we both had rings."

Raven smiles, genuine. "Clarke showed Monty and you showed Miller, and then neither of you did anything about it. For _weeks_. We just wanted you guys to be happy."

"And we might've had money riding on whether it would work or not," Jasper adds, and Monty elbows him in the side. "I mean-- We would never make bets about our friends."

"Of course not," says Bellamy dryly.

Miller gives him an equally dry look. "If you're trying to thank us, then you're welcome."

"You're welcome whether or not you're trying to thank us," Raven points out. "Are we done now? Can we get on with the gaming?"

"Monty and I already have Mario Kart cued up, unless anybody objects," says Miller, passing controllers around.

"I don't know," Clarke smirks. "Bellamy might still be traumatized from last time."

"I could use a rematch."

"Good for you. Get back up on the horse. Or the bike."

He shakes his head smiling as his eye catches on the glint of her ring. "You're going down, Griffin."

"Save it for the bedroom, kids," Raven says, scrunching her nose.

Bellamy thinks he does a respectable job of redeeming himself. He's never going to beat Monty or Raven, not when it comes to video games, but he comes in ahead of Clarke in the first race, and just behind her in the second. The third is Rainbow Road, and her concentration face is tinged just enough with smugness that Bellamy doesn't even feel bad when he leans in, just as she rounds the last curve.

"So, kids," he whispers, and she jerks so badly she actually flings the controller across the room.

Miller looks affronted and Raven is laughing at Clarke's deer in the headlights expression, and Bellamy crosses the finish line, neatly sliding into third.

"Touché," Clarke sighs, pinching the skin of his inner arm reproachfully. He slings it around her and kisses her temple.

If this is what the rest of his life looks like, well, it looks pretty perfect to him.


End file.
